Although it has rebounded from its lowest levels, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is still down considerably from its highs. This has been driven by indiscriminate selling following a coronavirus-induced market crash.
While the market crash has been very disappointing, every cloud has its silver lining. And the silver lining on this crash is that it has dragged some high quality shares down to attractive levels.
Two top shares that I would buy and hold forever are listed below. Here's why now could be a good time to invest:
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
The first forever share to own is this biotherapeutics company. CSL is made up of two businesses – CSL Behring and Seqirus. CSL Behring is the global leader in plasma therapies and Seqirus is the second biggest influenza vaccines company globally.
The company has been growing at a consistently strong rate over the last couple of decades, which has led to some incredible gains for investors. I'm confident this strong form will continue over the next two decades and beyond thanks to the quality of its businesses, the strong demand for its therapies and vaccines, and its lucrative research and development pipeline. This could make its recent share price weakness a buying opportunity for investors.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Although I'm not overly bullish on Ramsay Health Care in the immediate term, there's no doubt that its long term outlook is extremely positive. This is because populations around the world are ageing and chronic disease burden is increasing, which is driving stronger and stronger demand for healthcare services.
Ramsay appears especially well-positioned to capture this increasing demand. It delivers healthcare services from 480 facilities in 11 countries. This makes it one of the largest and most diverse private healthcare companies in the world. It also has a strong balance sheet and an appetite for earnings accretive acquisitions. In light of this, I expect its shares to be market beaters over the long term.
